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One lawmaker, Samira al-Mousawi, told CNN that the Kurds weren't the only ones who didn't cast ballots. Others who chose not to vote were Shiites and Sunni Arabs, she said.

A lawmaker told CNN that 141 out of 275 parliamentarians voted for the measure, but the Kurdish bloc boycotted the vote.

The Kurds were protesting a secret ballot setting out a power-sharing arrangement in the Kirkuk region, with Kurds, Turkmens and Arabs getting the same amount of power, she said.

And they are protesting the postponing of a long-delayed referendum over whether residents want to be part of the Kurdish Regional Government, she said.

Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission originally set an October 1 deadline for elections, but it now says that date can no longer be met. Commission members believe that if the presidency council approves the law, they can stage the elections by mid-December.